Downtown Raleigh Alliance offers this Storefront Upfit Grant program to incentivize and attract new retail, restaurant, and service businesses, aid in the expansion of existing retail businesses, direct support to strategic areas, accommodate pop-up uses that may convert to long-term tenants, better support Minority- and Women-owned businesses, and ultimately drive a healthy and strong storefront economy in Downtown Raleigh.
Sponsoring Agency: Downtown Raleigh Alliance
Type of Fund: Grant
Deadline Available: Available
Deadline Date (mm/dd/yyyy): 07/01/2022
Size of the Fund: Less than USD $50,000
Downtown Raleigh Alliance offers this Storefront Upfit Grant program to incentivize and attract new retail, restaurant, and service businesses, aid in the expansion of existing retail businesses, direct support to strategic areas, accommodate pop-up uses that may convert to long-term tenants, better support Minority- and Women-owned businesses, and ultimately drive a healthy and strong storefront economy in Downtown Raleigh.
The program is specifically intended to help businesses with upfit and one-time standup expenses.
Program Objectives
- Attract new businesses that provide needed/desired services or products within downtown to address demand of residents, employees and visitors, as well as increase foot traffic and create a viable commercial core.
Stimulate private investment in retail within downtown through property improvement, business development or expansion. - Contribute to the overall value of downtown by encouraging more retail, restaurant, and service businesses, which makes downtown a more vibrant, sustainable, livable place and adds value to other businesses and investments in downtown.
- Provide additional resources, access, opportunities, and pathways to entrepreneurship for minority-and-women-owned businesses.
- Direct additional attention and assistance to areas of downtown in need of more targeted, storefront-level, economic development support.
Program Details
Grant funding provides financial assistance for renovations, improvements, and build-outs of existing spaces and stand-up expenses associated with starting or expanding a business in downtown.
The funding opportunity is tiered based on business type, location of business, and competitiveness of application. Businesses that are 50% or more minority-owned and/or women-owned qualify for additional funding. The maximum funding available per eligible business is $10,000.
- MWBE Booster
- Businesses that are 50% or more minority-owned or women-owned may apply for an additional $2,500 in funding on top of the below limits.
- Tier One: Retail
- For new retail businesses or existing retail businesses looking to expand by 30% or more, funding eligibility is at Tier One, or up to $7,500.
- Tier Two: Restaurant or Service
- For restaurant or service businesses located within the eligible zone (see map), funding eligibility is at Tier Two, or up to $5,000.
- Tier Three: Pop-Up
- For a pop-up business with a lease term of three (3) months to one (1) year, funding eligibility is at Tier Three, or up to $2,500.
Eligibility Criteria
- A business license is required.
- Eligible business uses include but are not limited to retail, restaurant, experiential, and service. (For purposes of eligibility, experiential will be considered a subset of service).
- For pop-up businesses, a minimum three-month lease commitment is required.
- The proposed location must be storefront space inside or on the boundary
- Storefront spaces on boundary streets will be considered eligible irrespective of the side of the street that the space is on. A storefront space being on a boundary street will be determined by the location of the primary customer entrance to the space from the street.
- Retail uses are eligible within the entire grant boundary area.
- Restaurant and service uses are limited in grant eligibility to be within the smaller targeted area.
- Pop-up concepts (as defined by an intended duration or lease commitment of less than one year) are eligible in the entire grant boundary. However, restaurant and service pop-ups are only eligible within the targeted area for restaurant and service uses.
- Professional office and bar uses are explicitly ineligible (bar being defined as a business concept where 70% or more of projected or actual revenue is derived from onsite alcohol sales and consumption).
- Brewery and distillery concepts with onsite production are excepted from the 70% definition and are explicitly eligible.
- To be considered eligible, the business must submit a proposal that can be completed within a six month timeline.
- Creative concepts that add new products or services to downtown are encouraged.
- Final eligibility determination is subject to DRA staff review.
More information at: https://downtownraleigh.org/do-business/incentives-and-business-resources/storefront-upfit-grant
Eligible Countries:
United States
Business Categories:
Women Entrepreneurs, Business, Hotel and Restaurant Industry, Retail
